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Athlon Sports Links: Wisconsin - 10 Greatest Players, Greatest Moments - Cheerleaders Through the Years.
Lost Lettermen: Football - Basketball.
Opposing Views Links:
Wisconsin Badgers Might be Big Ten's Best Team.
University of Wisconsin Links: School Web Site - Athletics - Big Ten Conference Web Site.
Badgers News:
W. Ice Hockey. Badgers break NCAA attendance record in 1-0 win
28 Jan 2012 at 8:15pm
12,402 fans "Fill the Bowl" and watch Wisconsin blank Bemidji State12,402 fans "Fill the Bowl" and watch Wisconsin bl...
M. Ice Hockey. Badgers drop 4-2 decision to UND
28 Jan 2012 at 7:30pm
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- For the second evening in a row, the Badgers (12-12-2, 7-11-2 WCHA) fought tough, twice rallying...
M. Tennis. Wisconsin starts the year with a pair of wins
28 Jan 2012 at 6:49pm
The Wisconsin men's tennis team opened the spring season Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium by earning a 6-1 victory ...
W. Track. Event wins earn well-rounded Badgers team title at Iowa State
28 Jan 2012 at 6:13pm
Wisconsin Track and Field. Wisconsin Track and Field. Wisconsin Track and Field.
M. Track. Sprinters power Badgers to third-place finish at Bill Bergan Invita...
28 Jan 2012 at 4:29pm
Hammon, Woloszyk post top times in sprints in strong showing for No. 15 Wisconsin
W. Swimming. Badgers finish up Big Ten Quad Duals
28 Jan 2012 at 4:04pm
Pair of dual victories by UW women highlight the weekendPair of dual victories by UW women highlight the weekendPair ...
M. Swimming. Badgers finish up Big Ten Quad Duals
28 Jan 2012 at 3:45pm
Pair of dual victories by UW women highlight the weekendPair of dual victories by UW women highlight the weekendPair ...
W. Swimming. Badgers start fast at the Big Ten Quad Duals
27 Jan 2012 at 8:58pm
Big performances by Weiss and Wanland highlight day oneBig performances by Weiss and Wanland highlight day oneBig per...
M. Ice Hockey. Badgers take UND to the wire, fall in last two minutes
27 Jan 2012 at 8:46pm
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Twice coming back from deficits, the Badgers (12-11-2, 7-10-2 WCHA) took a 3-3 game late into th...
M. Swimming. Badgers start fast at the Big Ten Quad Duals
27 Jan 2012 at 8:38pm
Big performances by Weiss and Wanland highlight day oneBig performances by Weiss and Wanland highlight day oneBig per...
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University of Wisconsin Badgers: (From Wikipedia)
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball. The Badgers have several major on-campus facilities, including Camp Randall Stadium, the UW Field House, and the Kohl Center. They compete in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's and women's ice hockey and crew. Ice hockey competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and crew in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC).
The athletic director is Barry Alvarez, former head coach of the football team. The Badgers team colors are cardinal and white, and the team mascot is named "Buckingham U. Badger," known as "Bucky Badger." Additionally, people sometimes use "Bucky" to refer to the university's teams, much like what is done with "Sparty" at Michigan State University.
Team Name Origin:
Wisconsin was dubbed the "Badger State" because of the lead miners who first settled there in the 1820s and 1830s. Without shelter in the winter, they had to "live like badgers" in tunnels burrowed into hillsides.
The badger mascot was adopted by the University of Wisconsin in 1889. His name, "Buckingham U. Badger", aka "Bucky Badger," was chosen in a contest in 1949. The emblem, a scowling, strutting badger wearing a cardinal-and-white striped sweater, was designed by Art Evans in 1940 and updated in 2003. A live badger from Eau Claire was used at the first few football games that year, but proved to be too fierce to be controlled and was retired to the nearby Henry Vilas Zoo. For a time, the school replaced the live badger with a live raccoon named "Regdab" ("badger" backwards). In 2006, Bucky Badger was inducted as a charter member of the Mascot Hall of Fame's College Division, joining YoUDee from Delaware and Aubie from Auburn.
Football:
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football.
Team History:
The history of Wisconsin football is one of highs and lows.
The first Badger football team took the field in 1889, losing the only two games it played that season. In 1890, Wisconsin earned its first victory with a 106-0 drubbing of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, still the most lopsided win in school history. Ironically however, the very next week the Badgers suffered what remains their most lopsided defeat, a humiliating 63-0 loss at the hands of the University of Minnesota. Since then, the Badgers and Gophers have met 118 times, making Wisconsin vs Minnesota the most-played rivalry in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Over the course of the 1890s, the Badgers dramatically improved. Upon the formation of the Big Ten conference in 1896, Wisconsin became the first-ever conference champion with a 7-1-1 record. Over the next ten years, the Badgers won or shared the conference title three more times (1897, 1901, and 1906), and recorded their first undefeated season, going 9-0-0 (1901). With the exception of their second undefeated season in 1912, in which they won their fifth Big Ten title, the next 35 years were a period of general mediocrity for the Badgers.
1942 was an important year for Wisconsin football. On October 24, the 6th ranked Badgers defeated the Number 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall, catapulting Wisconsin to the Number 2 spot in the AP poll. Unfortunately for the Badgers, their national championship hopes were dashed by a 6-0 defeat by the Iowa Hawkeyes the following week. Nevertheless, Wisconsin won the remainder of its games, finishing the season 8-1-1, and Number 3 in the Associated Press poll, while garnering the Helms Athletic Foundation vote for National Champion.
In 1952, Wisconsin received its first Number 1 ranking by the Associated Press. That season, the Badgers again claimed the Big Ten title and earned their first trip to the Rose Bowl, where they were defeated 7-0 by the University of Southern California. Wisconsin returned to the Rose Bowl as Big Ten champs again in 1959 and 1962, with both games resulting in defeat.
Over the next thirty years, the Wisconsin football program descended to gloomy depths. The nadir occurred in the back-to-back winless seasons of 1967 and 1968. After languishing through the 1970s, a string of seven-win seasons from 1981-84 placed the Badgers in the Garden State (1981), Independence (1982), and Hall of Fame Bowls (1984).
In 1990, Barry Alvarez became the head coach of the Badgers and, following three losing seasons (including a 1-10 campaign in his first year), Alvarez led the Badgers to their first Big Ten championship and first Rose Bowl appearance in over 30 years. On January 1, 1994 Wisconsin defeated UCLA 21-16 to claim its first Rose Bowl victory. Over his 16-year tenure as head coach, Alvarez led the Badgers to two more conference championships, 11 bowl games (going 8-3), and two more Rose Bowl victories.
Following the 2005 season, Alvarez stepped down as head coach of the Wisconsin football team and assumed the duties of athletic director. Former defensive coordinator, Bret Bielema, took over as head coach, and has since led the Badgers to a 38-14 record, with four consecutive bowl appearances (going 2-2).
At the end of the 2009 season, the Wisconsin Badgers had an all-time record of 614-465-53.
Wisconsin's football program has been among the most successful in the Big Ten since the early 1990s, when Barry Alvarez was hired as head coach. Under Alvarez, the Badgers won three Big Ten Championships and three Rose Bowls. In the 2005 season, Alvarez's last year as coach, the Badgers defeated the Auburn Tigers 24-10, in the Capital One Bowl. In 2006, Bret Bielema took over as head coach, posting a 12-1 record and defeating Arkansas 17-14, in the Capital One Bowl. The Badgers are 10-10 in bowl games, and have made 14 bowl appearance in the past 15 seasons, including a school record seven straight appearances. The Badger football program has had two Heisman Trophy winners: fullback Alan Ameche in 1954, and running back Ron Dayne in 1999.
The Wisconsin Badgers football team plays its home games at Camp Randall Stadium. Built in 1917, Camp Randall is the fourth-oldest college football stadium in the country and has a capacity of 80,321. The student section at Camp Randall is considered by many to be one of the best in all of college football.[citation needed] Among the stadium traditions is a well-known student celebration to the House of Pain song "Jump Around," occurring at the end of the third quarter of every home game. The University of Wisconsin Marching Band performs its "Fifth Quarter" after every game.
Basketball:
Men's Basketball:
Wisconsin has made it to the Final Four twice in its history — most recently in 2000, and before that in 1941, when it won the National Championship. The Badgers have participated in the NCAA tournament for the last 11 seasons (1999–2009). Wisconsin tied for first place in the Big Ten in the 2001-02 season, along with Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio State. In 2002-03 the Badgers won the Big Ten outright, but then lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament to Ohio State. In the NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin lost to Kentucky in the Sweet 16. In 2003-04, Wisconsin finished second in the Big Ten. It went on to win the Big Ten Tournament, the only time it has won since the inception of the tournament in 1998. However, the Badgers lost to 3rd-seeded Pittsburgh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In the 2004-05 season Wisconsin finished third in the Big Ten. In the 2005 NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin advanced to the Elite Eight by defeating 11th-seeded Northern Iowa, 14th-seeded Bucknell, and 10th-seeded North Carolina State. In 2005-06 the Badgers lost to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, and to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. During the regular season, Wisconsin lost a home game to Division 1 North Dakota State University. The highlight of the season was a win over intrastate rival Marquette.
In the 2006-07 season the Badgers had victories at Marquette and at home against 2nd ranked Pittsburgh. Its lone non-conference loss was against Missouri State. On February 19, 2007, they earned their first number 1 ranking in school history with a 26–2 record, but were defeated the next day by the unranked Michigan State Spartans. Entering the Big 10 Tournament the second seed, their first game was against Michigan State, who the Badgers defeated 70–57. In the next round against Illinois, the Badgers won 53–41 and advanced to the final to face Number 1 ranked Ohio State. The Buckeyes defeated the Badgers 66–49. In the NCAA Tournament Wisconsin received a Number 2 seed in the Midwest bracket. The Badgers defeated Texas A&M Corpus-Christi. The second round of the tournament proved fatal for the Badgers, who lost to UNLV.
Dick Bennett is largely credited with beginning the turnaround of the program. During his six-year tenure at Wisconsin (1995–2000), the Badgers achieved a 91-68 record and had two 20-win seasons. Only twice previously had the Badgers won at least 20 games in a season, the most recent being the 1940-41 championship season. Coach Bo Ryan has been in charge since the 2001-02 season and has led the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament every year. During the 2006–07 season, he not only achieved his 500th win as a college coach but the Badgers were also ranked Number 1 in the AP Top for the first time in program history. As of December 12, 2009, after a win against in-state rival Marquette, Ryan has compiled a record of 200–75 with the Badgers.
Notable Badgers currently in the NBA: Michael Finley, Devin Harris, Alando Tucker, Marcus Landry.
The Badgers play their home games at the 17,190-seat Kohl Center, where they have one of the best home winning records in college basketball.
Ice Hockey:
The Badgers made history in 2006 when both the men's and women's hockey teams were crowned NCAA Division I National Champions. This was the first time a Division I school has won both the men's and women's crowns in the same year.
The Badger men won their sixth National Championship on April 8, 2006, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, with a 2–1 victory over Boston College. The men's team had previously won the National Championship in 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, and 1990.
The Badger women won their first title on March 26, 2006, at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, with a 3–0 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Golden Gophers. This was the first women's hockey national championship for Wisconsin and the first time that the NCAA Women's National Championship trophy left the state of Minnesota. (Minnesota-Duluth won the trophy in 2001, 2002, and 2003; Minnesota won it in 2004 and 2005.) The victory did, however, continue the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's dominance of the women's crown. On March 18, 2007, the Badger women captured the back-to-back National Championship with a 4–1 win over Minnesota-Duluth at Herb Brooks Arena, in Lake Placid, New York. The Badgers returned to the National Championship game in 2008, but suffered a disappointing 4-0 loss at the hands of Minnesota-Duluth. In 2009, the Badgers became the first team in NCAA history to reach the title game in four consecutive seasons, winning their third National Championship with a 5-0 victory over Mercyhurst.
Mike Eaves is the head coach of the men's hockey team, while Mark Johnson coaches the women's hockey team. Both coaches were teammates on the Badgers' 1977 NCAA title team. Both the men and women play home games at the Kohl Center in Madison.
National Championships:
Through the Winter 2009 sports season, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has won 27 NCAA national championships:
Boxing: 1939, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1956
Men's basketball: 1941
Men's cross country: 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2005
Women's cross country: 1984, 1985
Men's ice hockey: 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990, 2006
Women's ice hockey: 2006, 2007, 2009
Men's indoor track & field: 2007
Men's soccer: 1995
Trademark Dispute:
The University of Wisconsin has been involved in disputes with a number of high schools, including ones in Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia, for trademark infringement. The issue involved the use of the Badger's athletic logo, the "motion W". As a result of the litigation, the high schools involved were required to change their logos.
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